


A Year And A Day

by elrosa



Series: A Year And A Day [3]
Category: Endless Summer (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drama & Romance, F/M, Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 17:42:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14720690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elrosa/pseuds/elrosa
Summary: As their year and a day come to an end, Taylor and Jake find themselves reminiscing about their past and wondering about their future.It's set in my head canon AU where they made it off the island safely and even with a slightly bigger team.





	1. Don’t Dream It’s Over

_A commitment for a year and a day, and if you still love each other after that time, forever._

That’s how our story was supposed to go. 

I almost broke my promise the very next day. I was told my sacrifice will save the world, give my friends the lives they were meant to have, and I didn’t hesitate. I promised him a year and a day, but I could give him a whole lifetime. The price I had to pay was that I could no longer be a part of it.

I remembered how I broke into million pieces. For a split second, I was infinite, I was everywhere. I felt the past, present and future become one.

I broke into million pieces, and only one came back. I never knew why. I felt hollow and incomplete, but I was back. I was alive. I was me.

We could have had our year and a day.

Except it’s not a fairy tale and there is no happily ever after. It’s not a game and there is no checkpoint to go back to. It’s a life, and if you screw up, it stays screwed up.

My own words came back to me with a staggering force. I regretted them the very moment they left my mouth and I wished I could take them back, but it was too late.

_Don’t ever come back._

_Run from your problems, just like you always do._

* * *

_Run from your problems, just like you always do._

I slammed my fist into the panel.

“Fuck you!” I shouted. “Fuck you, Princess!”

“Is everything alright?” Someone peered into the cockpit. “I heard your screaming.”

“Yeah, no worries. It’s just…” I realized I’m talking to our new stewardess, damn Miss Nosy. “This plane is shit. Controls don’t work unless you hit ‘em.”

She didn’t look convinced, but she shrugged and left. I kept cursing under my breath.

_Run from your problems, just like you always do._

Her words hit home very hard. I wished she just slapped my face instead, it would be less painful. I thought she knew me better than that. “Fuck!” I muttered again. We never fought, not until now. What’s worse, I started most of the fights, including the last one. She just asked me to spend more time at home and less at work, and I snapped. Word after word, until it spiraled out of control and she kicked me out.

“Congratulations, McKenzie, you know how to fuck up!” I heard a nagging voice in the back of my head. “Perhaps you just don’t want to have a happy life.”

I thought about our son and I felt a single tear rolling down my cheek. He was almost four months old and I haven’t seen him since our fight over a week ago. Taylor suggested we named him Mike honoring my friend, but with his blue eyes and brown hair, he looked just like me. I closed my eyes for a second, trying not to break down completely.

Perhaps the voice was right. We were so happy and I fucked up.

_It was Christmas evening. We sat under our tree next to an enormous pile of presents, most of them for our little one. We took turns unwrapping them and guessing who sent what. She scolded me for getting him a miniature plane, saying it’s not appropriate for his age. Apparently, if a toy is marked as “3+”, it means it’s for three-year-olds, not three-month-olds. How on earth was I supposed to know that?!_

_When I finally managed to put him to sleep, I joined her on the couch with a glass of mulled wine._

_“I think it’s time for you to enjoy your last gift.” She whispered in my ear, her voice filled with promise._

_I buried my hand in her hair and pulled her in for a kiss. For a split second I felt she tried to resist, but as our lips melted in a kiss both sweet and spicy from the drink we shared, she gave in. Or at least I thought she did._

_“I actually wanted to take charge myself tonight.” She chuckled when our lips parted at last._

_I raised my brow._

_“Not gonna complain, girl. I’m all yours.”_

_She began to unbutton my shirt painfully slowly. “I want you to do as I say.”_

_I nodded eagerly as she traced her finger down my collarbone._

_“Alright. You can look all you want, but no touching until I allow you to.”_

_I nodded again. She yanked my shirt off and unhooked my belt. I raised my hips, helping her slide my pants._

_“I think,” she tugged at the elastic band of my boxers, “you won’t need that too. And while you’re at it, I want you to sit on a chair.”_

_I obeyed her on both counts, wondering what was on her mind. She reached for the belt and I blinked with surprise._

_“Don’t look at me like that. I want to be sure you won’t touch anything. Put your hands behind your back.”_

_We sometimes joked about being tied up, but we never got to try it, so I guess it’s now or never. I let her tie my hands to the chair and looked expectantly._

_“What are you going to do with me now that I can’t move?”_

_She brushed her lips against my ear. “Now I’ll make you suffer.”_

_She took a few steps back and began to undress, swaying her hips slowly and seductively, item after item, until she stood before me completely naked save for a pair of high heels._

_If that was her take on a foreplay, I couldn’t wait to see what she was planning next._

_Her body seemed to glow in the flickering candlelight and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. With fuller hips and breasts, she looked now more beautiful than ever. Her hands caressed her body and I yelped with frustration as she reached her folds. She wasn’t joking about the suffering part._

_Her moves were getting faster and faster and I tried to break my restraints, but the damn belt was too strong. She stopped to laugh at my miserable efforts and traced my lips with her wet finger. My gaze got hazy with lust as I managed to suck it and savor her taste._

_She ran her fingers down my stomach and my muscles tensed with anticipation. I felt her warm breath on my inner thighs as she kneeled before me. I thrust my hips forward and I gasped as her mouth took the invitation._

_She caressed my shaft with her small hand while her tongue danced at the tip. I closed my eyes and I stopped breathing while she started sucking. I was this damn close to release… but then she let go of me and looked at me with an impish grin. She knew._

_“Fuck you, Princess!” I shouted in frustration._

_“Oh yes.” She said with a mischievous smile as she straddled my lap. “Fuck_ me _, indeed.”_

_I tried to break free again. She rocked her hips back and forth against my throbbing cock, but I couldn’t take any more teasing. I just wanted to grab her, press her back to the nearest flat surface, push myself inside and fuck her until the world collapsed._

_“You’ll be the death of me, woman.” I panted._

_“That bad, huh?”_

_“Untie me or I will kill you, I swear!”_

_“If you kill me, I won’t be able to do_ that _.” She tilted my head and kissed me fervently. Her hand slid between us and she finally let me in._

_I groaned as she began moving up and down. Her thrusts were slow and deep at first, but she was getting faster and faster with each second and it drove me mad._

_She arched her back and let an involuntary groan._

_“Killed by your own weapon, huh?” I asked viciously._

_“Shut up or I’ll stop.” She gasped, increasing her pace again._

_“Don’t you dare stop now!”_

_She tugged at my hair and looked me deep in the eye, trying to keep a steely gaze and straight face, but her body failed to keep up with the lie. I saw how she shivered, I heard moans and cries she could no longer contain, I felt the heat coursing through her body, but her eyes remained cold._

_I wasn’t sure if that was part of the act, or if she was mad at me for some offense I didn’t know I committed._

_She moved so fast I dared not to breathe, afraid she would stop again, not allowing me to finish. Finally, her body gave in and I felt waves of the pleasure overtaking her. She whispered my name as her walls clenched around me and I followed her over the edge._

_She kept going, but her movements were slow and sensual now. She looked at me, her eyes no longer cold but filled with devotion, and sighed. “That didn’t go exactly as I planned.”_

_“I don’t know what you planned, but that… that kinda blew my mind.”_

_She laughed._

_“That’s the point! You got a reward, and I wanted to punish you.”_

_“What on earth for?!”_

_“For every night I spent in our bed alone. For every day I needed you, and you weren’t there. For every time your job was more important than_ us _.”_

_She stood from my lap and left._

_“Hey, you forgot to untie me!” I yelled at her._

_She looked back and smiled like the devil she was._

_“I didn’t.”_


	2. Like I’m Gonna Lose You

I got lost in my thoughts and the landing was not as smooth as I wished. I could almost hear her soft voice, ringing with laughter.

_“Hope you don’t work for tips, Top Gun.”_

I smiled at my memories. Well, to be honest, she had every right to doubt my skills after what I displayed on the island. We both knew the crashes weren’t exactly my fault, but I couldn’t blame her when she told me she’s not going anywhere near the board of my plane ever again, even if she had to swim through the entire ocean or go barefoot through the jungle.

I wrapped my fingers around a ring I bought for her as an anniversary gift just before our fight. It wasn’t anything fancy, but I didn’t think she was the big stone kind of girl. When I saw it in the shop window, I immediately thought of her. It was a plain silver band shaped like a little crown and I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity. She was my princess, after all.

Too bad we were nowhere near the happily ever after we promised each other.

I looked into the calendar to check my schedule and I froze. I lost track of time, drowning myself in work, flying to and fro between the various airports, trying so hard to forget, but the days passed anyway. I checked the date again on my phone, but there could be no mistake. Today was our anniversary.

* * *

Today was our anniversary. I couldn’t believe I actually forgot it. If Diego hadn’t texted me, the day would have passed just as any other. I was too ashamed to admit we fought so hard I basically kicked Jake out and there was no happy celebration he thought we had. I just texted him back with generic congratulations and wishes.

If I only knew the exact point when it started to go wrong. Maybe I could go back there and… I stopped and cursed myself. No, I couldn’t. I had no more control over time. And I had no courage to say “I’m sorry,” either. I felt clueless and lost, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

I tried to remember everything that happened over the last year. Maybe it wasn’t such an utter failure I thought it was?

I knew we had some happy moments, I could see them right before my eyes. Our first Christmas together. The day when our son smiled for the first time and we couldn’t believe how similar his smile was to Jake’s. The pride and love in his eyes when he held the tiny bundle in his strong arms for the first time.

I brushed the tears from my cheeks.

The next memory that came to my mind was of us moving to our new house. When I saw it, I felt it was our home. There was no picket fence he so despised and it was barely furnished, but it was big enough to accommodate our soon-to-be family of three.

I tricked Jake into gathering the seashells for the path as he promised on our getaway, and it really took us almost a month. Well, we could have finished sooner, if we spent more time actually looking for the seashells instead of groping each other, but I couldn’t complain about that.

Before we moved there, we lived for a while in his beach shack and shared a hammock at night. It was fun, too. I felt a little sad when we left — it was our first home, after all — but he told me there’s time for everything, and right now it was the time to move on.

I kept searching through my memories until I reached the day of our final encounter with Rourke. That day I decided to listen to Vaanu and join myself with the rest of Island’s Heart to save my friends and all they loved. That day I got back.

I remembered the pain I felt when I fell into million pieces, the confusion when I saw all the timelines tangling and merging together. I couldn’t forget the fear when I started to doubt if my choice was the right one and the sudden darkness when everything disappeared. I still felt the emptiness inside me where all other pieces of me used to be.

I remembered waking up in a hospital bed with Jake pressed tightly to my side, his arms draped around my body as if he was trying to protect me from something. My stirring woke him up and he looked at me, his gaze intense.

“You’re back. Oh God, Princess, you’re back.” He grabbed my hands and kissed my knuckles.

I smiled at him. “Thought you can get rid of me that easily, huh?“ I tried to joke, but the tears in his eyes told me he was dead serious. “I’m back. I promised you a year and a day, after all.”

Someone told me later that what felt like a split second to me was actually almost a day for them. He spent the day shouting, cursing, wailing, begging for me to come back to him, crying his heart out until there was nothing but an empty and broken shell left.

Perhaps sometimes the universe listens. I did come back. He kept clinging to my lifeless body until the coast guard arrived, and even in the hospital he never left my side, afraid I could leave again.

Yes, that was the day that changed everything. We never really talked about it, he wasn’t the type to talk about his feelings. I tried a few times, but he always brushed my concerns aside with one crude joke or another, and I never fully realized how hard it must have been for him. Not until now, and now was too late.

I closed my eyes and rested my forehead on the table, letting my thoughts sink in.

One day he had everything. His best friend was back from the dead, the girl he fell in love with married him, there was a kid on their way, he could finally clear his name and reunite with his family. The future seemed bright and happy until the next day came and took it all from him.

I was so happy to be back, I didn’t stop to think he was the only one of my friends who lost his promised future. Yes, there was another one in its place, but maybe — it was a painful thought and it never crossed my mind before, but it still was a possibility — maybe if he was given the choice, he wouldn’t have picked this one. Well, even if that was not the case, I certainly didn’t do much to make it the future worth having. I felt a pang of guilt for being so selfish.

Thank God, our year and a day were not over yet. I can still find a way to fix it all and get him back.


	3. Let Her Go

I opened my car and I suddenly realized I have no idea where to go. I had a week off — I requested it a while ago, before my plans went out of the window — and I didn’t know what to do with my free time now.

I couldn’t go home, not yet. There were too many things I wanted to say to her, too many things to apologize for, I didn’t even know where and how to start. I needed a courage, and I knew a place. So, the bar it was.

I ordered a glass of whiskey and I cringed when I realized how pathetically cliche it all was. A heartbroken guy in a bar. Maybe I’ll even start crying on bartender’s shoulder after a few drinks?

I looked at him and shrugged. No, that guy definitely wasn’t the therapist type. He would probably kick me in the butt and tell me to get a grip if I started moping. And, honestly, he would be right. Someone should have kicked my butt a long time ago.

We’ve been through hell together. Every time I looked at her, I remembered that day I thought I lost her forever.

_“There might be another way—” she hesitated and touched the crystal._

_She started to explain her plan to us. I heard her voice, but I couldn’t understand her words. There was something about love and purpose? She put on a brave face, but all I could see was the sadness in her eyes._

_She looked at me and I suddenly knew this was a goodbye. I wrapped my arms around her, not wanting to let her go. S _he grabbed the crystal pillar and a single tear rolled down her cheek.__

_“Jake, I love—” a sudden pain distorted her face and with a flash of light, she was gone. I didn’t even have time to protest._

_“Taylor! Wait! It’s not your decision to make! Don't—” I cried. “Come back! COME BACK! COME BACK!!!”_

_The vortex was gone. The darkness was gone. The ominous red glow on the horizon was gone. The world was saved._

_And she was gone._

_I crumpled on the ground, wailing like a child. I didn’t even know how we got to the beach, but we did. I heard the rest of the gang getting excited, but I couldn’t care less._

_All I could see was her face. One second she was there in my arms, and in the next, she was gone._

_Hours passed, and she wasn’t coming back. The world kept running, oblivious to my pain. I kept begging, pleading, crying, and she still wasn’t coming back._

_I hated her for leaving me, I hated myself for falling in love with her, I hated the universe for showing me I could be happy again only to take it all away._

_Someone tried to hug me, but before I knew what I was doing, I punched him in the face._

_“Leave him alone. He needs time.”_

_Yeah, time, right. She just gave me all the time in the world, and I didn’t want it. How much was the time worth without her by my side? A loaded gun to my temple, that’s what I needed._

_I didn’t have a gun, but there was another way out. It was a fucking island after all. I almost drowned once and I was not scared of it anymore. With her gone, with all my hopes of having a happy boring life gone, this was the only thing left for me to do._

_I ran deep into the water when Sean grabbed my arm and pulled me away._

_“Jake, you idiot, what the hell are you doing?!”_

_I tried to yank away, but more people rushed for help, getting hold of me and dragging me back to the beach. I kept kicking and writhing and biting and screaming, but they wouldn’t let me go._

_“Get off me, for fuck’s sake!” I yelled._

__“You can't—”_   
_

_“I’m not going to let you drown!”_

_“We’re going to get her back!”_

_“She wouldn’t want you to—”_

_“What the hell do you think you know?!” I screamed and kicked again, desperate to set myself free._

_“You can’t give up, it’s not like you! Do you hear me?! Do not give up, idiot! You never give up!”_

_“I am giving up right now.“ I started sobbing, my body went limp and I slumped in the sand. “I don't— I don’t have anything to live for anymore. I give up.”_

_Someone hoisted me up, I felt warm arms closing around me, and I kept crying, oblivious to everything what was happening. I heard them shouting about coast guard ships. It didn’t matter. She was gone. Mike was gone. There was no future for me anyway._

_I closed my eyes, trying to forget and push it all out of my mind like I always did with my pain. But no matter how hard I tried, the void in my heart wouldn’t go away._

_“Taylor, Princess, come back. Don’t leave me like that. I love you. Come back to me. I can’t live without you.” I kept begging her, though I knew she couldn’t hear me._

_But when I lost all my hope, there was another flash of light and she came back._

I wished all of that never happened. I wished I could forget. But even in our happiest moments, I still felt the dark shadow of that day looming over us.

I was so afraid of losing her one more time, of being vulnerable, I walled myself up again and promised to never let anyone in.

“And look where it got you,” I said to myself bitterly. “It’s your first anniversary, and you’re sitting in the dive alone, pitying yourself. Congratulations, man.”

The bartender eyed me suspiciously. “Want another one? You’ve been staring at that empty glass for like an hour.”

“Uh, no, thanks.”

“Must be one hell of a woman, eh?”

I closed my eyes and nodded. “She is.”

I should have told her all that a long time ago. She asked a few times, but it was easier to pretend everything was alright.

I left the bar and I realized I’m on my way home. Perhaps it’s not too late to talk to her?

* * *

Perhaps it’s not too late to talk to him?

Ever since I got back, I found myself having problems with the simplest decisions. My confidence was gone, I felt like I was wandering in the dark and I hated that.

I suddenly realized I know why I feel this way. I was never supposed to be back. I went through all the iterations, I saw my friends dying 2,139 times just to know every choice and guide them to survival. I knew exactly what to do because I’ve made every bad decision already.

But now I have a life I was never supposed to have. It’s my first and only shot at it.

And I’m not screwing it up.

I picked up my phone and dialed his number.


	4. The Reason is You

I picked up my phone and dialed her number. She was busy with another call and I got redirected to her voicemail. Maybe it’s for the better. If she’s still mad at me, she can just delete the message.

“Uh… Hi. It’s me. Jake.” I said, cursing myself in my thoughts. Like she didn’t know that. “I’m sorry. I’m a fool. I love you. I need you. I can’t spend another second without you. Please, let me go home. Let me go back to you.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I reached into my pocket and fumbled with the ring.

“Happy anniversary, Princess.”

* * *

“Happy anniversary, Jake.”

I sighed.

“I know things have been bad between us and it’s all my fault. I’m sorry for everything. I love you. Please forgive me. Come back home. Please.”

My throat tightened and I hung up, unable to add anything more. I wondered if he’s going to listen to my message. Probably not.

The phone buzzed. Who could call me at this hour? I looked at the name and my heart skipped a beat.

It was  _him_.

Tears streamed down my face as I listened to his message. I wanted to call him back, but my hands trembled and I couldn’t see the screen. I needed a moment to compose myself. Just as the thought crossed my mind Jake burst into our house like a hurricane, almost ripping the door off its hinges, sweeping me into an embrace so tight it left me gasping for air.

He pulled me away, looking at me with anticipation. I felt like I should say something, but the lump in my throat made it impossible. Our faces were just inches apart and the air between us was tense. I could swear the electricity was almost palpable.

I gripped his hair and pulled him in for a kiss so fierce my lips hurt.

The talk can wait. I needed his touch, his kisses, his smile, I needed him all right now. I needed to show him how badly I missed him. I needed to feel how badly he missed me.

Jake took off his jacket and sent it flying across the room with one swift move. I ripped his shirt off and he slid his rough fingers under my top, pulling it over my head. A low groan escaped my lips as he slammed my back against the wall. I looked at him when a sudden sense of familiarity struck me.

“Do you remember…?” I whispered between kisses, thinking about our first night in The Celestial, filled with the same heat and urgency we felt right now.

He smiled, and I knew he was reliving the same memory.

“I’ve never wanted anything as badly as I want you.” He said with a deep voice, his eyes locked in mine.

“Then take me.” I repeated my words from that night, feeling his impatient hands digging into my hips. We undressed in a hurry, not wanting to waste any more time for anything but our frenzied passion. Our lips and tongues melted again in a hungry kiss.

He hoisted me up against the wall and I wrapped my legs around him. Just feeling the touch of his bare skin on mine drove me mad. I felt the familiar tingling warmth rushing through my stomach and I closed my eyes.

“God, I missed you.” I sighed and ran my hands through his long hair.

“You can call me Jake, you know?” The rumble of his deep laughter against my neck made me shiver.

“Shut up and kiss me.”

He planted a trail of sucking kisses down my throat an traced it back up with the tip of his tongue. His rough hands caressed my thighs. I shivered with anticipation, pressing my breasts against his muscular chest. He groaned, grabbed my ass and leaned against me heavily, pinning me back to the wall.

I linked my ankles behind his back and pushed my hips towards him. An involuntary moan left my mouth as he plunged his whole hard length inside me. His heart pounded so fast I thought it was going to burst out of his chest.

Jake shifted my weight in his arms, freeing one of his hands. He pinched my nipple with his fingertips and I yelped with surprise.

“You like that, Princess?”

His lips brushed my ear and I nodded.

“Say it.”

I closed my eyes, concentrating on his deep thrusts.

“Say it.” He groaned into my ear, pinching the hardened bud again.

“I like it.” I gasped for air as his speed increased. “God, I love you.”

“Told you, the name’s Jake.” We both chuckled. I could barely think, my mind hazy from the heat, and he could still crack his bad jokes.

I felt the tide of pleasure building inside me, sending ripples through my entire body, threatening to overtake me any minute. I knew he could feel it too.

“Wait for me, girl.” He demanded, brushing my swollen lips with his and taking them for a deep kiss. I stopped breathing, trying to keep the wave from crashing over me, desperate to meet his demand.

He gripped my hips tightly and rested his forehead on the wall. His heavy breaths stirred my hair and I relished the feeling of his hips grinding against mine. He slipped his hand between us and rubbed my clit with his thumb.

I arched my back, not sure if I could contain myself any longer. “Jake, I'm—”

“I love you, Taylor.” His husky voice sent shivers down my spine.

I looked at him from under my half-closed lids and he looked back, his eyes darkened with passion. He kept going, pushing me to the edge, digging his nails into my skin. I felt his muscles tensed, his thrusts became faster and sloppier.

The world around us seemed to slow down. I couldn’t hear anything but our gasps and moans, and we trembled with the intensity of our pleasure as we both came, waves of pleasure rippling through our bodies.

We stood entwined for a while, catching our breath and letting the racing heartbeats return to normal. I tried to stand on the floor, but my legs buckled underneath me and he wrapped his arms around me, protecting me from the fall.

Jake buried his face in my hair and chuckled. “And to think all I actually wanted tonight was to talk to you.”

“Me too.” I tucked a strand of wet hair behind his ear. “But I don’t think well on my feet when you are around.”

He beamed proudly and I gave his arm a playful shove.

“Don’t think I’ll be that easy on you. Makeup sex is great, but we still have a lot of things to talk about.”

He nodded and glanced around the room, looking for his shirt. “I don’t even know where to start.”

I grabbed my discarded clothes from the floor and sighed.

“The night is still young. Why don’t I make us some coffee and we start from there?”

All tension we had between us was gone. I lowered my eyes to the table, wrapped my hands around the hot cup and started telling him my side of the story. It was hard at first, but I knew I should have done it a long time ago. Once I started, I could feel the burden in my heart getting lighter with every word.

“Look at me.” His voice was filled with unusual tenderness. I raised my eyes, meeting his gaze. He took my hands in his and raised them to his lips, but didn’t say anything, and just kept staring at me. I finally realized what he was trying to do and I started to laugh.

“I can’t read your mind. You need to talk to me.”

His mouth twisted like he ate a lemon. “Damn, I thought I could give it a try. It’s not”—he let out a deep sigh—“it’s not something I’m good at.”

I squeezed his hand gently, trying to encourage him.

“I know. But you will feel better if you talk to me, I promise.”

He hesitated for a moment and closed his eyes.

“Don’t think I’m a bad person”—he shuffled his feet—“but that day when you decided to sacrifice yourself?” He looked at me with hurt in his eyes. “I wish you didn’t. I wish you chose to stay with me.”

I saw his jaw clenched and I realized I was gripping his hand so hard my knuckles turned white.

“I know it sounds bad. But… I couldn’t care less about the world, Taylor. I only care about you. You are the reason I live. Literally. When I thought I lost you, I wanted to end it all. If you didn’t come back—” his voice broke and I wrapped him in a tight embrace.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know.”

I kept rocking him in my arms and crying as he poured his heart out to me. I swear I didn’t know. I didn’t even suspect it was that hard on him.

We looked at each other, feeling quite embarrassed. We got used to being naked around each other, but this time it was our souls that were bare. It was scary and exhilarating at the same time. Our faces were still wet with tears, but the atmosphere felt clear. I couldn’t even remember the fight that started it all.

We both started to talk at the same moment.

“Jake—”  
“Taylor—”

We smiled, finishing the sentence.

“—I love you.”

Just as we kissed, a nearby clock struck midnight.

“It looks like we’ve made our year and a day after all.”

He reached for his jacket and took something small from the pocket, then held my hand.

“I almost forgot I have something for you. I never gave you a ring and when I saw this one, it just seemed perfect.” He slipped a small silver band shaped like a crown on my finger. “I really love you, Princess. And a year and a day with you are not enough for me. Will you do me the honor of spending the rest of your life with me?”

Tears welled in my eyes and I hugged him tightly, resting my head in the hollow of his neck. I looked at the ring. He was right, it was perfect.

“I love you too.” I sobbed. “And don’t you dare leave me again, do you hear me?”

“I won’t, Princess.” He promised and I knew I could believe him.

He tipped my chin up and brushed my lips with his finger. I kissed the inside of his palm and pressed it to my cheek. His hand slid to the back of my neck and then down my spine, sending a flurry of butterflies in my stomach.

“Is this going where I think it’s going?” I looked at him with a smile as his hand landed on my bottom.

He grinned. “You bet it is.” 


End file.
